Means for cleaning and feeding kapok and other staple fibers



Nov. 12, 1940.

c; N. MzMs Er AL MEANS FQR CLANING AND FEEDING IvAPOK AND OTHER STAPLE E' :SERS

Filed sept. s, 1938' 4 sheets-sheet 1 Fig 1.

InvnlorS Attorney Nov. l2, 1940. C, N, MlMs ErAL 2,221,262 MEANS FOR CLEANING AND FEEDING KAPOK AND OTHER STAPL'E BRS 4 l Filed sept. 8, 1958 4 Simms-snaai 2 Q n@ kw T /7//1 Inventors l 1/ y M Alorney Nov. 12, 1940.

c. N. MlMs E1-AL MEANS `FOR CLEANING AND FEEDING KAPOK AND OTHERI STAPLE F BERS Filed Sept. 8, 1938 4 Sheets-Sheet 3- In venlors A ttorney NOV. 12, 1940. Q N. MlMS ETAL 2,221,262

MEANS- FOR C LENING AND FEEDING KAPOK AND OTHER STAPLE FBERS Filed Sept. 8, 1938 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Nov. 12, 1940 MEANS Fon. CLEANING AND FEE-DINGv KA- roK AND OTHER sTAPLE FIBERs Charles Norman Mims, Paris, France, and John Pitt, London, England, assignors to Airpak Limited, London, England, a company Application september s, 1938, serial No. 228,8791/2 In GreatBritain September 20, 1937 7 Claims.

This invention relates to a method of and means designed especially for .cleaning and feeding kapok, glass wool, asbestos or other like short staple fiber whether of vegetable, animal, mineral or synthetic origin butl capable also of application to the treatment of other light fibrous materials such as coir, hair and the like. The method and means here concerned is intended primarily for opening or loosening the fibrous materials, removing therefrom the dirt and other foreign material and reducing the cleaned fiber to the form of a continuous lap or sheet of loosely agglomerated ber suitable for example for delivery to asewing machine of the kind described in British Patent No. 462,962 adapted to tack or baste the sheet so formed.

Such sheets especially when made from kapok are of great value in commerce largely by reason of their bulk, extreme lightness and high air content, and in order to maintain these qualities unimpaired it is highly desirable that the stresses, frictional forces and other impacts to which the fibrous material is subject during the feeding and cleaning operation be kept as low as possible and that all foreign matter, such as seeds, fragments of husk, leaf, stem, shell, earth, stones and so on be detached from the ber and completely removed, since such matters if permitted toremain with the fiber would not only lower the vvalue of the product but would valso be liable to damage or interfere with the proper operation of the sewing machine.

According to the present invention the fibrous material for treatment is loosened, cleaned and `conveyed on a current of air to a continuously moving perforated belt which latter permits the escape of the air and conveys from the machine a continuous lap or sheet created by the deposition of the ber thereon. Alternatively there may be utilized two or more such perforate belts these preferably being so arranged as to merge or run together the laps formed separately thereon.

The raw material is preferably introduced to the machine continuously at a uniform rate by an endless conveyor with which may co-act one or more rotary stripper devices adapted to assist in loosening the fiber and cast it into the air conduit. It may at times prove necessary to interrupt the working of the machine including the fan or compressor supplying the main current of air. In these circumstances it is important that the partly formed lap situated on the perforate belts be retained in situ and for this reason it is proposed in accordance with this invention to furnish an emergency fan arrangement adapted to come into operation automatically for maintaining a pressure of air on the partly formed laps in the event of the main machinery being stopped.

A further feature of this invention is the provisio-n Within the air conduit or wind trunk of baffles, obstructions or check means adapted by deflecting the air current to assist in loosening the fiber and detaching therefrom the foreign matters which it is required to remove. The conduit may moreover be furnished preferably on its underside with traps or pockets adapted to receive the detached foreign matter which by reason of its greater density tends to gravitate while the fiber is carried freely upon the air current. Such traps or pockets provided are preferably so arranged that the accumulations' of dirt collecting therein-may be removed from time to time as necessary.

This invention is hereinafter more fully described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is an end elevation partly in section showing one form of the improved machine for cleaning and feeding kapok or other fibers.

Fig. 2 a sectional side elevation and Fig. 3 is a plan View of the same machine.

Fig. 4 shows in sectional side elevation a modifled arrangement of the improved machine.

The improved machine for cleaning and feeding kapok and reducing it to the form of a continuous lap as shown in Figs. 1 to 3 comprises an inclined conduit or wind trunk a, through which air at a high velocity is propelled upwardly as for example by the main fan b arranged in the lower part of the conduit. This .conduit a at its upper end terminates in a chamber c the forward and lower walls of which are composed of portions ofl endless belts d and e each of which is composed of wire gauze or like perforate material adapted to vrestrain the passage of the ber under treatment while permitting the escape of air, the fibers settling upon such belts accumulating in the form of laps which by reason of the motion of the belts are run together and delivered from the machine as a single continuous sheet. The belts d and e are disposed to run together more vor less tangentially whereby the separate laps Acreated thereon are merged together in a single lap and an additional endless belt conveyor f coacting with the belt d may be arranged to assist in delivering the manufactured lap from the machine. Where the fiber cleaning and lap forming machine is utilised in association with a tacking or basting machine, the lap emerging from the one machine may be transferred directly to the other by the conveyor f.

Now as in most cases the raw material to be subjected to treatment in accordance with this invention will be received in a baled condition it will prove convenient to so construct the machine that it will be capable of consuming the material substantially in the condition in which it comes from the bale. It is therefore preferred to provide at that end of the machine Where the fibrous material enters a feed belt or conveyor g adapted to detach from the`bale tufts or wisps of the fiber and .carry the same into the air conduit or a chamber connecting therewith. Thus in the constructional example illustrated the feed belt g is furnished with tongues, teeth, prongs or other projections h which may be rigid or pliant according to the precise nature of the fiber under treatment, these serving to engage the fiber and ensure its conveyance at a uniform rate into the machine. It is of course possible where desired to feed the fiber by hand on to the upper run of this conveyor but with a view to reducing manual tending it is preferred to arrange beneath the lower run of the conveyor one or more lifting platforms i upon which bales 7' of the fibrous material can be supported and raised automatically into engagement with the lower run of the conveyor g whereby the teeth or prongs h or the like may rake off the top of the bale or boles the fiber for introduction to the machine. Stationary grids 7c disposed immediately beneath the lower run of the-conveyor g may be provided to delay the elevating action of the lifting platforms and prevent the bales pressing too heavily against the conveyor.

As will be understood the upper run of the conveyor g moves toward the air conduit carrying upon it the fiber which is arranged to be detached from the conveyor and cast in a loosened condition into the air conduit by one or more rotary stripper elements l rotated at a high speed in close proximity to that end of the conveyor which enters the air conduit. Projecting tongues carried upon these strippers are arranged to inove between the tongues, teeth or prongs on the feed conveyor and so pull off and cast into the air conduit the fibrous material. If desired raking elements m overhanging the conveyor g may be arranged to act upon the fiber carried thereon in such a manner as to effect a preliminary loosening of the material.

The air conduit into which the ber is cast may for convenience have a horizontal entry part a1 within which the main fan or air impeller b is situated but thereafter the conduit a inclines upwardly towards the condensing chamber c wherein the lap or laps of fiber are formed. This condensing chamber c preferably has cross section exceeding that of the air conduit whereby the air current will b-e caused to lose velocity on attaining this point and thus assist a settlement of the fiber upon the perforate belts d and e.

The conduit a, a1 through which the air borne ber passes is preferably furnished internally with certain small baffle devices, obstructions or check r sans such as the inwardly projecting bars or posts shown at n, these being adapted by deflecting the air current to assist in loosening the fiber and detaohing therefrom the dust and other foreign matters it is desired to remove. Moreover the air conduit on its lower side may be furnished with pockets or traps such as that shown o having a barred front communicating with the conduit, said pocket being adapted to receive the detached foreign matter which by reason of its greater density tends to gravitate Whilst the lighter fiber is carried freely upon the air current. The trap o may be furnished with a door o1 whereby its contents may be discharged from time to time.

Since during the working of this machine it becomes necessary on occasions to stop the power unit or units (not shown) driving feed belt g, the main fan b and the perforate belts d and e, it is highly desirable that arrangements be made whereby the partly formed laps on the belts d and e are retained in position until the machine is restarted. It is therefore proposed in raccordance with this invention to furnish an auxiliary blowing arrangement which will come into operation automatically on the power being switched off temporarily from the main fan and the associated mechanisms mentioned above. For this purposev an auxiliary blower p is connected directly with the upper part of the air conduit a and the junction between these two passages is controlled by a two-way iiap or valve q. This flap or valve which may be lifted by spring action or by a counterweight q1 serves normally to close the passage communicating with the auxiliary blower p but upon the main fan being stopped and the auxiliary blower started it swings downwardly to the position shown in broken lines in Fig. 2 thereby ensuring that the required air pressure is maintained in the condensing chamber c. The power units driving the main and the auxiliary fans are arranged in such a manner that when the one ceases to operate the other is immediately started. Where electric motors are employed for operating the fans this object may readily be achieved by the use of a change-over switch between the two motors.

In the machine illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3 the main fan o is carried upon and driven by a shaft b1 having a power unit b2 connected therewith and the feed conveyor y is disposed at right angles to the general line of the air conduit. The machine as a whole may be improved as to its shape and size as may be seen in Fig. 4 by disposing the feed conveyor in line with the air conduit and by bringing the shaft b1 of the main fan out through the lower part of the air conduit a for connection with its power unit. This rearrangement of the components comprised will enable the machine as a whole to assume a shape and siz'e better adapted for accommodation in factory premises.

Although in the forms herein illustrated the lap or sheet is created by disposition, of the iibers upon one or more moving perforate belts it should be understood that a similar effect may also be secured by employing instead one or more rotating cylinders having perforate surfaces upon which the air borne fibers may be deposited.

We claim:

1. A machine for cleaning kapok or other fiber and converting the same to the form of a lap, comprising a conduit having an inlet end and an outlet end, means for delivering fiber in loosened condition into said inlet end, means for blowing the fiber through said conduit to said outlet end, a chamber at said outlet end and communicating therewith, a pair of continuously moving carriers insaid chamber arranged to receive the iiber'clischarged into the chamber and to form the same into a lap, an auxiliary air current inducing means for said conduit, and a valve for said conduit adapted to close the same between said auxiliary air current inducing means and the inlet end of the conduit.

2. A machine for cleaning kapok or other fibers and converting the same to the form of a lap, comprising a conduit having an inlet end and a discharge end, a chamber into which said discharge end opens, a pair of endless conveyors arranged in said chamber in angular relation and adapted to have bers discharged thereagainst, the fibers being conducted by said endless carriers into the angle formed therebetween where the said lap is formed and passed out of the chamber between the carriers, means for supplying fiber to the inlet end of the conduit, an air current inducing means adjacent said inlet for blowing the ber through the conduit tothe outlet, an air current inducing means arranged to discharge air into the conduit between the said first means and the outlet, said second air current inducing means being designed to be started upon the stopping of the first-mentioned means, and a valve arranged to close said conduit between the two air current inducing means simultaneously with the stopping of the first-mentioned means.

3. A machine for cleaning kapok or other bers and converting the same into a lap, comprising a conduit having an inlet end and a discharge end, a material receiving chamber having said discharge end open thereinto, said conduit extending to said chamber at an upward inclination, a horizontal foraminous conveyor Within the chamber at an elevation below said conduit outlet, a verti-v cal foraminous conveyor extending across an end of the rst conveyor and spaced therefrom to form therewith a passage in which the lap is formed, the said outlet being directed toward a side of the vertical conveyor, means disposed beneath the adjacent portions of said conveyors and beneath said passage for receiving and carrying oi a lap of fibrous material formed between the conveyors, means for supplying fiber in loosened condition to the inlet end of the conduit, means adjacent said inlet end for creating an air current designed to carry ber through the conduit, and a debris trap located adjacent the lower end of the conduit and opening thereinto through the upwardly inclined under wall of the conduit.

4. A machine for cleaning kapok or other fiber and converting the same to the form of a lap, comprising an air conduit having an inlet end and an outlet end, a portion of said conduit at the inlet end being horizontally arranged and the remaining portion of the conduit extending upwardly at an inclination, means forming a material receiving chamber into which the outlet end of the conduit opens, means within said chamber onto which the material is received from the outlet end of the conduit for forming said material into a lap, means for carrying off the lap from the chamber, means adjacent the inlet end of the conduit for creating a current of material carrying air flowing through the conduit to the outlet Y end thereof, means for supplying the fiber in loosened condition to said inlet end, means for closing said conduit intermediate its ends and for establishing a current of air through the outlet end into the chamber to maintain the ber against the lap forming means when said air current creating means is stopped, and means for trapping debris carried into the inclined portion of the conduit with the fiber, comp-rising a receptacle opening into the conduit through the under wall of the upwardly inclined portion thereof.

5. A machine for cleaning kapok and other fiber and converting the same to the form of a lapy comprising a material receiving chamber having an inlet, a horizontally disposed foraminous conveyor disposed adjacent to and in a plane below the inlet, a vertically disposed foraminous conveyor disposed in facing relation to the inlet and extending at one end across and spaced from an end of the first conveyor, a carry-off conveyor for the lap disposed beneath the space between the first-mentioned conveyors and passing under and partially around and in contact with the lower end of the second-mentioned conveyor, and means for supplying the fiber in loosened condition to and discharging it through said casing inlet against said conveyors.

6. A machine for cleaning kapok or other fiber and converting the same to the form of a lap, comprising a conduit having an inlet end and an outlet end, means adjacent the inlet end of the conduit for discharging fiber into the conduit, a fan within the conduit adapted to create an air current leading toward said outlet end, a fiber receiving chamber at said outlet end and into which the same opens, means within said chamber onto which the fiber is discharged for forming the fiber into a lap, a fan arranged to deliver air into said conduit between the first fan and the outlet end of the conduit, and a valve arranged to close the conduit between said fans when the first-mentioned fan ceases operating, the second-mentioned fan being started at the cessation of operation of the first fan.

'7. In a machine for the formation of a lap of fibrous material, a chamber having an inlet through which the fibrous material is discharged, a foraminous endless conveyor disposed horizontally in the chamber with the top run thereof at an elevation below said inlet, a second endless conveyor arranged vertically in the chamber and having a downwardly moving run positioned in front of said inlet and passing across and in CHARLES NORMAN MIMS. J OI-IN PITT. 

